City, county and park service prepare for ferries to start passenger service in mid May

Two National Park Service ferries, Turtle Runner and Pelican Perch, arrived in Pensacola on Saturday, April 22, 2017. The boats are expected to go into service in spring 2018.
Anne Delaney/adelaney@pnj.com

Gulf Islands National Seashore, the city of Pensacola and Escambia County officials say they should be ready to start passenger ferry service in mid May.

"There are many, many, many moving pieces, but we are on schedule to have a ferry operator under contract by this spring," said Dan Brown, superintendent of Gulf Islands National Seashore.

The two, 150-passenger ferries were originally scheduled to begin service between downtown Pensacola, Pensacola Beach and Fort Pickens in the spring of 2017, but service was delayed for a full year because of problems constructing the ferry landings and finding a contractor to operate the ferries.

The two ferries, named Turtle Runner and Pelican Perch in a contest involving local school children, are being funded with $5.2 million in restitution funds paid by oil giant BP in the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Gulf Islands National Seashore is spearheading the project.

Providing the ferry service has been complicated because so many government entities are involved, Brown said.

"It has been challenging because we have so many different entities that have had to come together," he said. "We have been very, very busy working on this."

The National Park Service ferry landing encompasses a former mine storage building, built in 1900 and recently converted for use as a concession area and history exhibit. The park service will also provide trolley rides for ferry passengers wanting to access other parts of Gulf Islands National Seashore's Fort Pickens Area.

The city's site, off Commendencia Street near the Palafox Pier, will have a temporary kiosk and concession area through most of 2018, while construction is underway on a permanent ferry terminal.

"The $3.5 million dock and terminal building will be iconic additions to Pensacola's downtown waterfront and will serve as the homeport for location for the two vessels," the city said on its website.

Ferry service routes(Photo: City of Pensacola)

The two ferries, covered in protective plastic wrapping, are currently in dry dock at the Port of Pensacola and can be seen from the city's new ferry dock.

Brown said the ferries are scheduled to be taken out of dry dock in April and will undergo a series of sea trials by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The 2018 schedule calls for the service to start on May 19, the weekend before Memorial Day, and continue daily through August. Weekend-only service will continue through October. In 2019, weekend-only service will start in March with daily service from May to August and weekend-only service continuing through October.

"Ultimately the schedule will be up to the ferry operator and they can propose a more expansive schedule if they see a demand," he said.

Brown has previously said tickets should cost around $19 will special fares for children, seniors and the military, but prices could be subject to change based on the needs of the ferry operator. The average speed of the ferries will be about 12 knots or 14 miles per hour, meaning each leg of the trip should take between 35-45 minutes.